Nishikori to meet Giraldo in Barcelona final

Tim Hanlon

BARCELONA: Fourth seed Kei Nishikori became the first Japanese player to reach the final of the Barcelona Open when he out-hit Latvia's Ernests Gulbis 6-2 6-4 on Saturday.

Nicolas Almagro failed to reproduce the form that helped him end Rafa Nadal's 41-match, 11-year unbeaten run at the tournament as the Spaniard lost his semi-final 7-5 6-3 to unseeded Colombian Santiago Giraldo.